A pilot study explored what children between the ages of 8 and 11 focus on when they write about writing: how children define writing, what features they believe constitute the act and product of writing, and what kinds of writing children consider important and why. During a half-hour period, 36 students in grades 3 through 5 were asked to write…

Observations of a 12-year-old boy provide an in-depth look at the writing of a successful adolescent writer, as it developed over a 2-year period. The subject was interviewed once a week in his home. In addition to the information obtained in interviews, his texts were analyzed for formal features. Three factors emerged as particularly…

The compositions or essay tests of second language learners are difficult to mark and evaluate. It has been suggested that the only way to achieve objectivity is to abolish all criteria except formal correctness, as it is the only one that can be measured and statistically evaluated. Attempts have been made to establish other criteria. A varied…